Some wireless communication devices include phased array antennas. For example, phased array antennas, e.g., in the form of compact silicon based phased array antennas, may be implemented for communication over a millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band to provide high data rates at relatively low cost.
The phased array antennas may be sensitive to variations in manufacturing process, supply voltage, temperature (collectively referred to as “Process-Voltage-Temperature (PVT)”), and the like.
For example, a phased array antenna utilized for communication over the mmWave may be sensitive to PVT variations, e.g., compared to other implementations for communication over lower frequencies, e.g., due to proximity to a maximal oscillation frequency (fmax) and/or due to parasitic impact.
Building an accurate production testing-environment for the mmWave band may be very expensive.
Radio-Frequency (RF) testing of the phased array antenna may be performed by over-the-air (OTA) testing, which may be relatively complex.
Elaborate and/or expensive production-line calibrations may be required in order to measure and/or calibrate phase states of the phased array antenna.
Phase Shifter (PS) self test solutions may be based on using a down-converting receiver to convert an RF signal into in-phase and quadrature (IQ) components, sampling the IQ components, and analyzing the sampled components in a digital domain. Implementing such a solution for the mmWave band may require complex routing of local-oscillator (LO) signals at mmWave frequency, and/or may increase production cost. Phased array antennas may utilize multiple receive chains, e.g., at least eight receive chains, and separately performing down-conversion for each chain may further increase production cost.